Jair Bolsonaro
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval rating came amid an increase in the number of coronavirus deaths and confusion over a national vaccination plan.
The mercurial leader, who mocked masks and echoed baseless theories about the virus expressed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, saw his personal support drop to 26% on Friday, from 37% in a poll previously published on January 14, according to a survey conducted by IDEIA and published in the Brazilian business magazine Exame. His disapproval score increased to 45% during the same period.
A the second poll released on Friday by DataFolha found that Bolsonaro’s approval rating was 31% against 37% in December, while his disapproval score rose from 40% to 32% in the same period.
Criticism at home and abroad is growing due to his government’s erratic manipulation of the pandemic as health systems in the Amazon city of Manaus collapses and the nation’s economic recovery loses strength. Friday, Bolsonaro said there is no scientific evidence on vaccines. On the same day, two prominent indigenous leaders tried to file charges against the president for his policies in the Amazon rainforest.
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These levels of discontent have not been seen since the middle of last year, when the pandemic overwhelmed hospitals and forced closures across the country.
IDEIA surveyed 1,200 Brazilians across the country between January 18 and 21, with a margin of error of approximately 3%. DataFolha interviewed 2,030 people across Brazil from January 19 to 20, with a margin of error of approximately 2%.
The results reflect the findings of the XP / Ipespe survey, which recorded a six percentage point drop in Bolsonaro’s popularity to 32% this month as cash transfers expired.
As a further sign of unpopularity, the two indigenous leaders called on the International Criminal Court to investigate Bolsonaro, accusing him of unprecedented environmental damage, killings and persecution.
William Bourdon, a Paris-based lawyer, filed a preliminary examination application in The Hague, the Netherlands, with the British newspaper The Guardian reported.
– With the assistance of Martha Viotti Beck
(Updates with the DataFolha survey of the third paragraph and charge of Bolsonaro ICC in the final paragraph.)